From CPI:
SX250 will be launched one or two months later than SM250 as that is another certificate to receive. Once I have any good news, I will keep you informed.
Of course, if he can’t wait, he can buy the SX wheels to put on the SM. That way, he can enjoy his ride without further waiting…
dude, the SM is better than the SX… if u want a track and a road… now if u want a dirt track then wait for a bit and get the SX
Dogma, thanks. Looks like we’ll see reviews of the SM before the SX, but it should be pretty easy to extrapolate.
I ride a friend’s WR250F Yamaha offroad and onroad. Offroad, I miss the torque of a bigger moto, even a 400, in climbing loose rock trails, but I never max out top speed. On road, 100 kph is cruel and unusual punishment for the poor thing. My guess is, other than the larger front wheel, the SX will have lower gearing than the SM.
More info to end price speculation, again from CPI so the shop may try the usual tricks:
“The nominal end user price is NT$98,000 including license plate and insurance.”
Still waiting for reviews to make up your minds?
I asked about seeing the bike for myself if you can get out there:
For the sample you want to try, you can contact with (03)335-6566 at no. 410, Zhong-Shan Road, Taoyuan City (name of the shop is "Jin-Xin) next week as they will have our sample bike
I will be going out there and if I like it i’ll be placing my order within 2 weeks if the dealer doesnt try and screw me…
a friend/customer of mine imports and sells all kinds of bikes in Turkey, amongst them many of CPI’s range… he says CPI’s 250SM is one of the best models he sells, very low vibration, great reliability and good performance… as for the dealers pulling a fast one, they’ll more than likely try, but at 98k retail they’re making their margins no problem… the astronomical increase in steel prices may well mean a price hike soon though, so those who are keen might be wise to strike while the deal is hot…
I saw one of these on the street here yesterday afternoon. Nice looking bike.
One thing I noticed, it looked large. It really stood out from the scooters around it at the traffic light.
So, who wants to take the lead in a group buy?
Can we muster five SM250 buyers and offer 85K x 5?
CHECK UPDATE ON PAGE 7
Cpi SM250 initial test ride impressions
Short trial 5km through traffic city riding and clear side street in the rain.
Acceleration:
Great, low-rev torque, the power comes right on through delivering immediately leaving nothing at higher revs.
Speed:
EDIT Max power is at 8000RPM and revs safely up to 10 000 RPM, so far 6th gear 7800 RPM 150KPH indicated.
Uphill climb:
Not tested, but all indications from the torque are that it will be untroubled by steep hills
Roll-on:
Excellent, even high gear roll-ons at low speed produce instant power, making quick overtaking maneuvers a breeze.
Emergency Braking:
In the rain with new tires I was trying to feel the balance of the bike during a rear wheel slide, it was quite difficult to cause a slide, this was difficult to do because the brakes operate very efficiently, gripping subtly and gradually. When I made it slide it felt perfectly poised. I did not try a Stoppie/Endo as the road was wet and busy and I was not keen to risk an accident however I spent most of my time using the front brakes and felt no risk of loss of control, they were sharp and crisp.
Corner Braking:
Untested
Low speed balance:
Very good, the bike is well balanced and the riding position makes control very easy. Nice and narrow to fit through traffic.
Lean Angle:
Untested
Low speed turn (balance):
Very good, easy to handle through its lightweight and upright riding position
High speed turn (stability):
Untested
Comfort suspension:
Excellent, when you get on the bike you will notice the suspension compresses easily both front and rear which gave me cause for concern however while riding I could feel the road beneath me which gave me a feeling of confidence while at the same time the bumps and holes in the road caused no discomfort, which is very important for me as I suffer from back injuries sustained over many years of racing and riding.
Comfort seat:
I didn’t ride very far so report of the long distance comfort is not possible, I will say however that I started riding motocross from age 6 and so have always felt comfortable on the narrow seats and this seat is no exception, I hardly noticed the seat at all as I felt quite comfortable, others who are more used to wide saddles may feel different.
Comfort riding position:
The riding position is upright and as such some people may feel discomfort over longer distances from spine compression, however as stated before the suspension is very forgiving so that will be a mitigating factor. Since I did not ride very far it’s not easy to say what the effect will be over long distances but I am willing to purchase this bike on my initial impression that it will not cause me pain.
Comfort space:
Very spacious and comfortable, I am nearly 6ft, and am not comfortable on small bikes, full steering lock on scooters bruises my knees and the smallest bike I feel moderately ok on is a 400cc superports. This bike while smaller and less intimidating than the DRZ400 is still large enough to be comfortable. The ride height gives great visibility.
Buttons positioning:
Convenient and well positioned with easy access while riding.
Storage:
None at all
Visibility mirrors:
EDIT Horrific, the only position that allows rear visibility also has the mirror touching your hand
Visibility night:
Excellent. low and bright beams really really good
Sound:
Great noisy thumper, not super loud but loud enough that scooters and cars knew I was there and moved out of my way, a great safety factor.
Gauges:
In this area the bike could use improvement, a (EDIT) digital job with bar and number tacho, speed and total distance readout with Lap timer and other features unknown to me because the user manual is still not available all accessed by a button near the right thumb, lights along the edges for the standard information include oil, neutral, lights, high beam etc, nothing fancy. Backlit in Blue when the lights are on is a nice touch.
Clutch:
Easy to pull clutch releasing immediately from initial position at the grip which made it difficult to handle the clutch two-fingered, but this can be remedied with an adjustment or even better get a two-finger clutch handle. Gave it some power and slipped the clutch with great response looking for a wheelie but the wet road surface only resulted in a rear tire slide which was well balanced.
Gears:
Small motions get the gears selected with the solid click of a new gearbox giving you the feeling of a quality gearbox, when looking for first gear on most bikes you will feel that the you cannot select a further lower gear because the gear pedal will not depress again and so you know you have reached first however on this bike however when you reach first gear the pedal will still depress to the same degree as if you were in any other higher gear so you get an ambiguous sensation and cannot be sure that you have reached 1st.
No kickstarter only electric starter, so if your battery dies be ready to push start it.
Conclusion:
I really like this bike its handling and power are competent of a 4-stroke 250 (however, I believe I could be wrong), not in the same league as the Japanese Supermotos, but its also not in the same price range as those bikes and so cannot be directly compared), it is in a civil state of tune but I believe it wouldn’t take much to turn it more lunatic and spend a bit more cash on mods and it could possibly match the big Japanese brands.
Basically for a white plate Taiwan built (so easy to maintain and get parts) at 98k all in it’s a great city commuter as well as short distance touring bike that can have fun at the track using low revs so limiting engine abuse and I believe with a quick swap of wheels you can have a great time off-road or on the beach.
The dealer said he anticipates very high demand as the bike has received recognition by being raced successfully as well as getting glamour appeal since a local star rides one. If he is correct then trying to get a discount for a group buy may be difficult and in fact supply may be an issue, but that is all speculative talk from a dealer, we will see what the reality will be in Taiwan. I will say that, in my opinion, in the west this bike would fly out the dealer lots.
$NT98 000 cash including licensing and insurance.
$NT103 000 financed over 6 to 12 months
well that was a long and nice detailed review…
if i wouldnt have my bike, for sure i would get it, its very convenient since there is no need for a big bike license, and its a lot of fun, i dont know about the off-road capabilities but some one will test it and let us know what is the feeling on a mountain track…
its bad that my wife doesnt like that kind of bikes
Well, you certainly sold me, dogma. It sounds like it was made for me specifically. Lets hope the gods of finance smile over me in the next few months.
I’m pretty set on buying one of these in the next few months, having killed my NSR and given up finding replacement parts for it.
Not having a kickstart kinda terrifies me, but perhaps that’s only because I’ve never owned a bike good enough that I didn’t have to kick it to life in the rain or the cold.
The first gear ambiguity sounds a little weird too, though I guess one would get used to it.
It does sound good.
Unfortunately, like the laptop I mentioned in another thread, it’s another expensive toy that I can’t really justify to myself …
[quote=“Brendon”]Not having a kickstart kinda terrifies me, but perhaps that’s only because I’ve never owned a bike good enough that I didn’t have to kick it to life in the rain or the cold.[/quote]I really wouldn’t worry about that. Firstly, if you keep it in reasonable condition the electric start should be good for many years. Secondly, bump starting’s a piece of cake anyway. I occasionally had to do it with my old FZ. You just put it into second gear (not first), make sure the ignition’s on, pull in the clutch, push the bike for a few metres and then let the clutch out. The engine should start then. Just remember to pull in the clutch again as soon as it does, otherwise you’ll stall the engine or drop the bike.
Sounds easy, joesax. Try it with a 350cc AJS on a cold winters morning with ice on the street and no gloves on. And already late for work.
Dogma, great report. Historic, at least in English.
so… no gas gauge. My DRZ doesn’t have one, so I really didn’t expect one on the SM250, but still, an SM should have one.
Top speed? RPM at top speed?
It won’t hurt to try a group buy. Unless the new models are on allocation basis, no dealer would pass up the chance to place an order for pre-sold bikes.
[quote=“maunaloa”]Dogma, great report. Historic, at least in English.
so… no gas gauge. My DRZ doesn’t have one, so I really didn’t expect one on the SM250, but still, an SM should have one.
Top speed? RPM at top speed?
It won’t hurt to try a group buy. Unless the new models are on allocation basis, no dealer would pass up the chance to place an order for pre-sold bikes.[/quote]
Top speed? under the conditions mentioned? I’m crazy not stupid haha forget about looking at the tacho at top speed through City traffic in the rain thats just obscene…
Sorry, I didn’t realize that your had hazardous conditions throughout. Sounds like you should take … a rain check. The next sunny day… please go out again on the SM250 to collect the “lean angle” and “top speed” data points.
It was not nearby bro 2.5 hour round trip, will see what happens when more dealers get demo models, check locally in your area maybe there is one you can try? Maybe someone can give us a second opinion?
I have a report from someone that they got 100km/h in 4th gear and the bike has 6 so conservative estimates are around 130 for top speed, the lean angle can be seen in the pictures of the guy racing they show the bike is capable of competitive cornering.
I have been told that the bikes will be produced per order, you order they make, I think my source is reliable but I cannot get confirmation from the manufacturer, I have tried but i don’t think they want to release that information.
One dealer told me I could buy the bike that he has on the showroom floor right now if i wanted, but that the plate will only arrive next month.
Another dealer has said that he can order my bike mid month to arrive beginning of next.
I will be ordering as soon as possible so probably in the next week, so PM me if you want to order with me, I don’t know if I can get a discount for multiple purchases, I will enquire if the need arises and I know how many orders I have to bargain with…